Commodity Currencies Rise As Russia Concerns Ease

(RTTNews) - Commodity currencies such as the Australian, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars strengthened against their major rivals in the Asian session on Tuesday, as concerns over Russia subsided following an aborted uprising.

Also, the crude oil prices edged higher as worries about political instability in Russia caused potential supply disruptions. Brent crude futures rose 6 cents to $74.24 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained 10 cents to $69.47 a barrel.

Traders focus their attention to the U.S. data that may determine the timing of interest rate hikes.

In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar rose to 4-day highs of 96.39 against the yen, 1.6259 against the euro and 1.0874 against the NZ dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 95.75, 1.6334 and 1.0821, respectively. If the aussie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 99.00 against the yen, 1.58 against the euro and 1.11 against the kiwi.

Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the aussie advanced to 4-day highs of 0.6720 and 0.8819 from a recent 4-day low of 0.6666 and a 7-1/2-month low of 0.8763, respectively. On the upside, 0.69 against the greenback and 0.90 against the loonie are seen as the next resistance level for the aussie.

The NZ dollar rose to more than an 8-year high of 88.83 against the yen, from yesterday's closing value of 88.45. The kiwi may test resistance around the 89.00 area.

Against the euro and the U.S. dollar, the kiwi advanced to a 6-day high of 1.7651 and a 5-day high of 0.6191 from Monday's closing quotes of 1.7681 and 0.6164, respectively. If the kiwi extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.73 against the euro and 0.62 against the greenback. The Canadian dollar rose to nearly a 9-1/2-month high of 1.3121 against the U.S. dollar and an 8-month high of 109.34 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.3153 and 109.08, respectively. If the loonie extends its uptrend, it may find resistance around 1.29 against the greenback and 111.00 against the yen.

Against the euro, the loonie edged up to 1.4333 from Monday's closing value of 1.4342. The next possible upside target for the loonie is seen around the 1.40 region.

Looking ahead, ECB President Christine Lagarde will deliver an introductory speech at ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal at 4:00 am ET.

At 5:30 am ET, Deputy Governor Sharon Kozicki of the Bank of Canada will participate as a panellist in ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal.

In the New York session, U.S. final building permits for May, durable goods orders for May, U.S. S/P Case-shiller, consumer confidence for JYne house price index for April, U.S. Dallas Fed services index for June and Canada inflation data for May are due to be released.